Gas-engine valve.



J. B. MERIAM a; H.L. ALLEN. GAS BNGINBVALVB.

APPLIOATION FILED MAB. 10, 1911.

Patented Dec. 3,1912.

62W fm XW' ffm QM 'UNITED STATES PATENT clarion.

JOSEPH B. MERIAM AND HARRY L. ALLEN,I0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNORS T0 THE BRUCE-MACBETH ENGINE'COMPANY', OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION 0F OHIO.

GAS-ENGINE VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 10, 1911. Serial No. 613,660.

To all fui/hom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOSEPH B. MEIrIAM and HARRY L. ALLEN, citizens of the United Stat-es, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of O hio, have in-- vented a certain new and useful Improvement in Gas-Engine Valves, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. l

The obl'ect of this invention is to provide an effective governing valve for gas engines. Our valve not only acts asv mixer for the gas and air,but it performs a double throtresults from a given variation in the sizeof the passageway. K y

' To prevent .the'action of the valve, 1n

- throttling the gas, being too abrupt, vwhere a very light load is used, we provide a' bypass from the gas conduit directly to the conduit for mixed gas and airvbeyond the governing valve. This insures a certain minimum amount of gas at all times, and does away with the necessity of gas ports being made withv the greatest accuracy.

Our invention is illustrated in the drawings herein, is hereinafter more fully eX-' plained, and its characteristics set out in the claims.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of our 4valve with the coperating chambers and passageways on a plane in` which the axis of the piston lies; Fig. 2 is a transverse section, substantially on the plane rod. Near one end, 'the valve casing has an annular chamber 14 in open communication with the gas supply from a pipe 30 by means of the communicating intermediate chamber 3l 1n the bonnet 32, which is connected with the valve casing. Similarly near the other end, the casing has a chamber 15 in open communication with a chamber 33 in the bonnet, whichlatter chamber is a ypassage for the air supply. As shown, an elbow 34 securedv to the bonnet connects with a pipe 35, which may be in open communication with the atmosphere, or may otherwise receive air as desired. lntermediately ofthe chambers 14 and 15, the valvecasing has an annular chamber 16, adapted to receive from the interior of the valve, the combined gasv Patented Dee. s, 1912.

and air and allow it to pass through the chamber 37 of the bonnet to the engine, not shown.

The piston valve 20, referred to, has an outer cylindrical wall 23 engaging the `bore 11, and through this wall are ports 24 adapted to registerwith ports through the cylindrical wall to the casing. There are preferably a number of these ports, both through the piston wall andl thecasing wall., the latter ports beingr provided by means of the space between annular rings 18, held by webs 19 from the body of the casing. 4`As shown in the drawing, there are tivo of these rings 18, whereby three sets of ports are provided to the chamber 16; coperating with these three sets of ports, are three sets of ports 24 through the wall 23. The valve 20 is provided with a cent-ral t-ubular portion 25, the wall otwhich is connected with the wall 23 by a diaphragm 26. The bore of the portion 25 is in open communication with the valve chamber at the gas-inlet end. At its opposite end this tubular portion 25 has a head 28, which receives the valve rod 21, and between this head and the cylindrical wall 25 are late ral openings 29. Accordingly` gas at the upper end of the valve chamber, as s'aown in Fig. 1, may pass downwardly through the bore ofthe tube 25, outwardly through the passageways 29, mixing with the air from the chamber 15, in the annular chamber between the valve walls 25 and 23. The piston has a wall 27, extending upwardly above the diaphragm 26, and adapted to overlap the port 12 from the gas chamberr 14. A suitable notch 22 is provided in this extension to register with the port 12.

Now, with the construction as described andshown in Fig. 1, gas enters under pressure through the portI 12 above the valve' 20,

and passes downwardly through the central tubular portion of the Valve, and through the passageways 29, and there mixes with the air coming from the chamberl. The mixed gas and air are drawn by the suction of the engine through the ports 24C into the chamber 16, and pass from thence through the chamber 37 to the engine. Under these conditions, a movement of the rod 21, not only acts to control the gas being admitted through .the port 12, but also controls the mixed gas and air passing through the ports 24.. As the mixed gas and air has a much less pressure than the gas-alone. its passageways are correspondingly larger, and hence, there need not be such accurate positioning of the Valve with reference to the casing ports to produce a given regulation. Therefore, not only does our Valve insure the proper mixing ot' the gas and air by bringing the two together in the manner illustrated, but it controls the supply ot the mixture to the engine very accurately and ettectively.

lli/*hen the engine is running light, very little gas is needed, and the valveA nearly closes the port 12, and accordingly, a small movement of the Valve from this position mightmake a very decided percentage otl Change in the gas supply. To prevent any such abrupt action by the governor, we provide means for constantly supplying a certain minimum amount ot gas directly to thechamben 16 independently of the gov-,Q ernmg valve. This we, accomplish by pro'l viding a by-pass 40 from t-he chamber 14 to the chamber .16, this ley-pass being shown as located in a plate or head 41, boltcd'to the side of the valve casing. This by-pass is effectively regulated by a needle valve or vpointed screw 12, which is shown as screwing through the outer wall of the head; and

in cooperation with a port 43 in the inner wall. A; jam nut 44 locks this screw. When thev engine is running with a load, the port 12 is open wide enough so that the amount ostl gas passing through the port 43 is negligible. On the other hand, when the engine is running light, the port 12 is so nearly closed that a considerable portion ot the gas used is passing through the port 43, so that the governor regulation of the port 12 under these circumstances, produces a less variation. v

Having thus described our 1'nventiom what we claim is 1. The combination, with a casing having a cylindrical bore, an annular passageway for in said casing having a port communicating with said bore, an annular pasway tor gas and air in said casing hai7u ing a port communicating Vwith said bore, a piston valve-within said port having its wall provided with openings `ac iapted-to register with the respect-ive ports, a parti-- tion in the interior ot said valve leading inwardly'from its wall, a. central tube forming a portion of the ,valve and leading 'from said partition and in communication with the space on the gas side ot the partition, a head carried by the central tube, a longitudinally slidable valve rml connected with said head, a passageway from said central tube into the annular space between it and the valve wall, and a passageway within the casing for air into such annular space.

2. The combination, 'with a` passagenav for gas and a passageway for mixed gas and air, otmeans tor controlling the `gas in its passage from the gas passageway to mix with air, means for controlling the l'rassage ot' the mixed gas and air, and means for conveying gas from the passageway to the mixed gas and air passageway without being under the control ot either ot said means.

3. The combination, with a valve chamber, having a gas passage Yay communicating therewith and a gas and air passageway leading therefrom, of a valve in said chainber adapted to throttle the gas in passing to the chamber, and a. byepass leading' independently ot' the valve from the gas passageway to the gas and air passageway.

4.*l`he combination, with ayalve chamber ,hagving a gas passagewaycommunicatingthzenewith and a gas andairf passageway leadingLtfherefrom, oi. a valve in said chamber adapted to throttle the gas in passing to the chamber and to yconduct such gas into communication with air and to throttle the gas and air in passing from the chamber, a bypass leading independently ot the valve from the gas passageway to the gas and air passageway, and a. needle valve tor controlling said by-pass.

5. The combination of a valve casing, having annular chambers for gas and for gas and air combined, a valve in said easing adapted to throttle the gas as received from the gas chamber, to convey the throttled gas into communication with air and to throttle the mixed gas and air as it passes to the other chamber, a plate forming a por- 

